In 1981 HSW and International Harvester constructed the TD-40 earth mover, the world's largest at that time.

It was a part of a series of investments made by the Polish government from 1936–1939 to create the Central Industrial Region.

The mill manufactured high alloy steels and weapons – artillery and heavy machine guns – in 1937.

In the 1960s and 1970s the company started production of heavy construction machinery, and in the 1980s, it was one of the major centers of resistance to the government (see 1988 Polish strikes).

In 2014, the Ministry of State Treasury decided to include HSW in the recently established Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, headquartered in Radom, making it Poland's largest arms manufacturer.